Austin Fontaine 
Megan Novelli 
I remember as a kid always wanting to watch the cartoon TV show The Jetsons. The flying cars that drove themselves, the closets that dressed whoever stepped inside, and the moving sidewalks always fascinated me and could keep my attention for hours. I remember wishing that the world the Jetson family lived in was real life, seeing as it was a lot more interesting than my parents’ Chevy Suburban and plain brick house. Well, it seems thanks to artificial intelligence, the world the Jetsons lived in could be right around the corner, at least when it comes to cars.
According to our book, artificial intelligence (AI) is defined as a “special branch of computer science that investigates the extent to which the mental powers of human beings can be captured by means of machines.” People who only believe in weak AI believe that a computer will only ever be able to simulate the human mind. On the other hand, believers of strong AI believe that a computer could actually duplicate the mind. This idea of artificial intelligence was first tested by Turing with an experiment where a computer and an actual human response were alternatively given to an interrogator. If the interrogator was unable to consistently determine the human response, the computer, according to the test, could be said to think. Nowadays, studying the idea of artificial intelligence has been taken over by Google, and what an interesting experiement it has been. Copy and paste the link below to read an article from only a few days ago about how Google has created a car that can drive itself. Yes its been tested, and yes it works.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/10/science/10google.html
How crazy is that? The idea of strong artificial intelligence is closer than we think. How do you feel about the idea of cars driving themselves? Do you think a machine will make less mistakes than a human?
Bradley Campbell
3:52 pm, 10.11.10
I would gladly give over the ability to drive on long trips over to a computer. I long for the day that we can as a family unit take a road trip wherein we can read, sleep, or watch tv all the way to our destination. The odd thing about AI, is if all humans suddenly disappeared from the planet, and these programs that we designed were left behind, they would not be able to function without continued input from humans. Thus it would seem that there is no such thing as AI, just an extension of our own intelligence into a simulation. Like an intelligence simulator, still…..really interesting stuff!
Stephanie Bell
11:19 pm, 10.13.10
I really enjoyed reading your post. I think that because machines are made by humans there will always be some human error in their programing. Because of this error I believe that the best machines will only be able to achieve a level as high as any human being. And if they did out do us in intelligence, would we even be able to test it or know otherwise?
Alyssa Bowyer
2:20 pm, 10.24.10
I would love a ride in a car that drives itself! However, I doubt I would ever be able to own one because I do not want to give up control. Especially not to something that is not living. No matter how intelligent it may be.